The dream of having high-speed internet at our fingertips while at sea is being granted more all the time as new technology is introduced to cruise ships, and Royal Caribbean International's VOOM is now making every one of its ships a high-bandwidth receiver, claiming the fastest internet at sea.
"VOOM is revolutionizing the onboard experience for our guests as well as for our crew and it is truly a game-changer for the industry," said Michael Bayley, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. "Everything our guests and crew can do online at home, they will now be able to do from onboard all of our ships around the world."
[READMORE]READ MORE: 8 Tips For Getting The Most Out of Your Smartphone On A Cruise Ship[/READMORE]
And just how does it happen? In partnership with O3b Networks, Royal Caribbean is employing the company's O3bMaritime technology, which takes a dedicated Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite and steers its connectivity beam directly at the ship across its course. It was first implemented on the Quantum of the Seas, Anthem of the Seas, Ovation of the Seas, Oasis of the Seas, Allure of the Seas and Harmony of the Seas. Now a combination of Wi-Fi service providers has expanded the VOOM service to the entire fleet of 24 ships internationally.
This means every Royal Caribbean guest and crew member has access to high data rates and low latency broadband connections, allowing them to proceed "full stream ahead." In practice, this lets them Periscope video live from the line's ships or even FaceTime or Skype with friends and family. They can also watch streaming video services such as Netflix onboard. From personal experience, it is indeed some of the snappiest internet I've experienced from a cruise ship, as tested on Anthem of the Seas and Harmony of the Seas.
The only lament is that it is not yet free, a complimentary amenity that will hopefully come from all cruise lines sooner than later. In the meantime, two connection varieties are sold: Surf for basic browsing as well as Surf and Stream for more robust broadband needs like video.
[READMORE]READ MORE: At Your Service: Royal Caribbean Conjures up Genies[/READMORE]
Surf begins at a flat $12.99 per device per day cost with additional devices at reduced rates and family packages for five devices or more starting at $8.99 per device per day. Surf and Stream then starts at $17.99 per device per day with the same discount approach for additional devices and family packages beginning at $11.99 per device per day. Pricing at least is competitive and comparable to shoreside resorts.
To understand more about VOOM, Royal Caribbean International has released a video, hosted at my Popular Cruising YouTube channel and embedded below…
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
